Bus structure



March 16, 1943. H. H. RUGG IETAL BUS STRUCTURE Filed June 8, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Harold l7! Rugy and I 01 l? P 8/50/7.

March 13, 1943. H. H. RUGG ETAL. 2,313,972

I BUS STRUCTURE Filed June 8, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5

WI NESSES: INVENTORS A/L/ Harold H.Ru9 and Paul R. Fterson.

7% ATTORN Patented Mar. 16, 1943 BUS STRUCTURE Harold H. Bugg'and Paul R. Pierson, Wilkinsburg,

Pia, assignors to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 8, 1938, Serial No. 212,440

' 2 Claims. (01. 174-448) Our invention relates, generally, to electrical bus structures and, more particularly, to bus structures of the metal-enclosed, segregated Phase type.

An object of our invention, generally stated, is to provide an electrical bus structure which shall be eillcient in operation and which may be readily and economically manufactured and in stalled.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide a bus structure which shall-be suitable for conducting relatively large amounts of current at relatively high voltages.

Another object of our invention is to provide for rigidly supporting a tubular electrical conductor.

A further object of our invention is to provide an adjustable insulating support for an electrical conductor.

Still another object of our invention is to provide an insulating support for an electrical con-- 7 an insulating baflle for an enclosedbus bar structure. 7 Other objects of our invention will be explained 1 fully hereinafter or will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In accordance with one embodiment of our invention, an insulated tubular conductor is supported inside of a supporting ring by means of four equally spaced insulators, which may be adjusted by adjusting screws in the supporting ring. The supporting ring is provided with feet for attaching it to a framework in the station. The supporting rings may be spaced at predetermined distances and the bus conductors'protected between supports by a removable metal cover, whichis sealed at its joints. A sectional insulating baiile plate may be utilized at desired locations in the bus structure to prevent the circulation of gases.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view, partially in end elevation and partially in section of a bus structure embodying our invention;

. Fig.2 is a view, partially in elevation and partially in section, taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, in section, of a modified form of one of the insulating supports utilized in the bus structure;

Fig, 4 is a view, partly in end elevation and partly in section of a modified form of the bus support utilized in the bus structure;

Fig. 5 is a view, in side elevation, of the bus support shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view, partially in side elevation and partially in section, of a battle plate utilized in the bus structure; and,

Fig. 7 is a'view, partiallyin endelevation and partially in section of the baflle plate shown in Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, the portion of the bus structure shown in the central part of the figure comprises a tubular conductor III, which may be covered with a suitable insulating material a ring 12 and four the end of the. adjusting screw I5.

insulators 13, which may be equally spaced in side the ring I! to support the conductor Ill. The insulators l3 may be composed of procelain, or other suitable insulating material, and the ends which support the conductor in are shaped to conform generally to the outside shape of the conductor. The ring I2 is providedwith feet It for attaching the rings to a suitable frame work (not shown) in the power station.

In order that the conductor I0 may be held securely in position and withstand the stresses imposed by theflow of relatively high values of current, an adjusting screw I5 is provided for individually adjusting each one of the insulators J3. As shown in Fig. 2, the adjusting screws l5v are threaded through the ring [2, and may be adjusted to force the insulators l3 tightly against the conductor III. A disc l6, composed of soft metal is provided in the top 'of each one of the insulators to protect the porcelain from injury by Lock nuts 11 are provided for locking the screws l5 after the insulators I 3 are properly adjusted.

When it is desired to remove the conductor in from the support, the screws l5 may be loosened sufliciently to permit the conductor to be withdrawn through 'thering IS. The structure may be assembled in a similar manner by inserting the conductor through the ring, placing the insulators IS in position and turning the screws ii to tighten the insulators against the conductor.

In orderto facilitate the assembly or disassembly of the structure, particularly when three phase bus structures are provided, in which case three conductors may be placed relatively close together as shown in Fig. l, the insulators l3 are disposed at approximately an angle of 45 from the vertical and horizontal planes through the conductors. thereby placing the screws IS in a position where they are readily accessible without conflicting with the adjacent bus supports.

It will be understood that the supporting rings l2 may be positioned in spaced relation along the conductors ID, to provide adequate support for the conductors. In order to provide additional protection for the conductors, they are enclosed by a casing i8, which extends between the supporting rings i2. As shown, the casing l8 s divided longitudinally into two sections which are clamped together by bolts i9, thereby facilitating the assembly of the casing around the conductor.

With a view to making the housing for each bus conductor substantially air-tight, H-bars 20 are provided for the longitudinal seams between the two sections of the casing IS. A suitable packing material 2| may be placed in the bottom of the slots in the H-bars for sealing the Joint when the two sections of the casing I8 are drawn together by the bolts i3. As shown in Fig. 2, the rims of each supporting ring I2, which are overlapped by the ends of the casing i8, are provided with one or more grooves 22 into which packing material 23 is placed for more eflectively sealing the joint between the casing i8 and the rings l2. In this manner, the conductor II! is completely enclosed by the supporting rings l2 and the casing I 8, which extends between the supporting rings.

As shown in Fig. 3, the insulators l3 may be loosely mounted on the adjusting screws ii in such a manner that they will not drop out 01' the supporting ring I2 when the conductor iii is .not in position in the ring. In this case, one end of each screw I is provided with a shoulder 24, which is disposed in a metal cup or insert'25 that may be cementedor otherwise secured in the end of the insulator l3. The insulator is retained on the screw i5 by a washer 26, which is threaded into the metal insert 25 to prevent the shoulder 24 from being withdrawn from the insert 25. The insulator may be tightened against the conductor ill in the same manner as described hereinbefore by turning the screw IS in the ring l2 and locking it with the nut i1.

In the modification oi the invention illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, a segment 21 of the supporting ring i2 may be removed in order that the conductor ill may be inserted in the ring from the side instead of being inserted endwise through the ring, as in the structure illustrated in Fig. l. The segment 21 is held in position by stud bolts 28, which are threaded into the main portion of the supporting ring [2.

As shown, the feet [4 for the supporting ring are on the side of the ring opposite the segment 21, which permits the three conductors of a three-phase system to be mounted in a vertical plane on the side of a wall or other vertical structure, if desired. l iowever, it will be understood that the structure illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 may be mounted on a horizontal framework, as illustrated in Fig. 1, by simply rotating the rings through an angle of 90.

The insulators l3 utilized with the structure shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are preferably of the type shown in Fig. 3, in which the insulators are center of the baiiie plate for the conductor II- loosely secured to the adjusting screws II to prevent them from falling out of the ring l2 when the conductor III is removed from the supporting rings. As shown, two of the insulators i3 may be mounted on the removable segment 21 to permit them to be removed with the segment, thereby facilitating the assembly of the conductor l0 in the bus structure.

It will be seen that the structure may be readily assembled by securing the rings l2 to the supporting wall or framework bymeans oi the feet l4 and placing the two insulators, which are mounted on the main portion of the supporting ring, in position. The conductor III is then placed in the ring and the removable segment 21 with the other two insulators attached to the main portion of the ring l2 by means of the bolts 23, after which the adjusting screws i5 may be ad-' Justed to tighten the insulators against the conductor ID, as hereinbeiore described. In the event that it is desired to remove the conductor, this may be done by simply removing the segment 21 and the pair of insulators carried by this segment.

It will be seen that the structure illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is particularly advantageous where relatively long sections of the conductors iii are utilized which require several oi the supporting rings to support one length of conductor, since the'conductor may be placed in all of the sup porting rings simultaneously from the side of the rings instead of being inserted endwise through the rings. Likewise, the removable segment 1acilitates the mounting of conductors which have been previously assembled in right angle and T relations. Furthermore, the use of insulators of the type shown in Fig. 3, which are retained in the rings by the adjusting screws I5, facilitates the assembly oi the structure.

In order to prevent the circulation of gases, which may be formed in a switch or breaker compartment to which the bus structure is attached by arcs resulting from the interrupting of power circuits, an insulating baiiie plate 3! of the type illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 may be utilized to close the openings through which the conductors Iii enter the compartment.

As illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, the baiiie plate 3i may be composed oi porcelain or other suitable insulating material, and it is divided into three equal sections of each. The edges of the three sections overlap in the manner shown to prevent the escape of gases through the joints between the sections.

The circular opening 32 is provided at the The opening 32 may be sealed, after the baiile plate is assembled on the conductor, by means of insulating tape 33, which may be applied to the conductor on each side of the baille plate, as shown in Fig. 6.

The three sections of the baflle plate may be secured to a ring 34, which surrounds the opening 35 in a wall 36 of the switch compartment,- by means of a plurality of screws 31, which may be countersunk into the baflle plate 3i. The ring 34 may be secured to the inside of the wall 36 by welding, or other suitable means. A gasket 38 may be placedjbetween the ring 34 and the bailie manner hereinbeiore described. A gasket 42 may also be placed between the ring 39 and the wall 36 of the switch housing.

In this manner, a baille plate is provided which may be constructed of porcelain, which is one of the best insulating materials known, and which may be readily assembled on a circular conductor at any point in the bus structure where it is desired to prevent the circulation of gases through the structure. Furthermore, the baflle plate also functions as an insulating support for the conductor, thereby strengthening the structure.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that we have provided a bus structure which is suitable for heavy duty service; that is, for the transmission of relativelylarge amounts of current at relatively high voltages. Furthermore, we have provided a means of securely retaining means of insulating supports, in which all metal parts are a sufflcient distance from the po'wer conductor to prevent danger of breakdown of the insulation. The structure may bereadily 'assembled with the power conductors disposed in either vertical or horizontal planes and with the conductors placed relatively close together, when necessary.

' an insulated circular conductor in position by Since numerous changes may be made in the above-described construction and different embodiments oi the invention may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim as our invention:

1. A support for a conductor comprising, a supporting ring, spaced insulating members mounted inside the ring for supporting the conductor, and means for adjusting said insulating members in the supporting ring, said insulating members being rotatably attached to said adjusting means, a segment of said ring being removable therefrom.

2. A support for a conductor, comprising, a supporting ring having a removable segment, spaced insulating members mounted inside the ring for supporting the conductor, and means for adjusting said insulating members in the supporting ring, said insulating members being rotatably attached to said adjusting means, part of said insulating members being removable along with the removable segment of the ring.

HAROLD H. RUGG. PAUL R. PIERSON. 

